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the experience of reading in Britain, from 1450 to 1945...

Reading Experience Database UK Historical image of readers
 
 
 
 

Record Number: 21154


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'We talked of Tacitus, and I hazarded an opinion that with all his merit for penetration, shrewdness of judgment, and terseness of expression, he was too compact, too much broken into hints as it were, and therefore too difficult to be understood. To my great satisfaction Dr. Johnson sanctioned this opinion. "Tacitus, sir, seems to me rather to have made notes for an historical work than to have written a history".'

Century:

1700-1799

Date:

Until: 18 Apr 1772

Country:

n/a

Time

n/a

Place:

n/a

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown


Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

James Boswell

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

29 Oct 1740

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

writer and lawyer

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

Scotland

Country of Experience:

n/a

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

Tacitus

Title:

Histories

Genre:

Classics, History

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

unknown


Source Information:

Record ID:

21154

Source:

Print

Author:

James Boswell

Editor:

R.W. Chapman

Title:

Life of Johnson

Place of Publication:

Oxford

Date of Publication:

1980

Vol:

n/a

Page:

491

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

James Boswell, R.W. Chapman (ed.), Life of Johnson, (Oxford, 1980), p. 491, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=21154, accessed: 10 November 2024


Additional Comments:

Originally published 1791.

   
   
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